In-Depth The Story Behind The Name 'Glashütte Original'

The road to Glashütte is long, winding and beautiful – just like the eponymous brand, Glashütte Original. HODINKEE recently visited Germany to learn more about how Glashütte Original is so intrinsically linked to German horological history. From the early 19th century with Glashütte’s four founding watchmaking fathers to the postwar German Democratic Republic (GDR) period, to the modern watchmaking renaissance we know so well today, watchmaking never stopped in Glashütte. Join me on a trip to Germany to learn what the “Original” in Glashütte Original really means.

The road to Glashütte is long, winding and beautiful – just like the eponymous brand, Glashütte Original. HODINKEE recently visited Germany to learn more about how Glashütte Original is so intrinsically linked to German horological history. From the early 19th century with Glashütte’s four founding watchmaking fathers to the postwar German Democratic Republic (GDR) period, to the modern watchmaking renaissance we know so well today, watchmaking never stopped in Glashütte. Join me on a trip to Germany to learn what the “Original” in Glashütte Original really means.

Glashütte horological history begins in 1843, when Ferdinand Adolph Lange wrote a letter to the Royal Saxon government detailing a plan to open a watch factory in Glashütte and begin educating apprentices. What was so different about this plan was the idea to have the apprentices work on one specialization, thereby enabling the foundation of an industry in Glashütte. Lange had recently returned from Switzerland, where he saw this practice work very well. It was different than traditional German watchmaking, but the Royal Saxon government liked what they read, and agreed to make a substantial loan to Lange to kick start his plan. Moritz Grossman, Julius Assmann, and Adolf Schneider (who, along with F. A. Lange, are considered the four fathers of Glashütte watchmaking) also started making watches in Glashütte, and the industry flourished.

F. A. Lange's original letter to the Royal Saxon government.

It flourished so much that Glashütte watches started to be copied. Unscrupulous watch companies from other countries were producing watches and adding the words "System Glashütte" to their watches to give them an extra sales boost (below is an example of one such movement – Swiss in origin). As a response to this we started seeing Glashütte watches using the word "Original" to indicate that they really were from Glashütte. This is where Glashütte Original gets its name from today.

Swiss movement with "System Glashütte" on bridge.

Fast forward to the end of World War II: Glashütte was bombed, and suffered extensive damage. To make matters worse, after the war the Soviet army demanded reparations from Glashütte in the form of tools and machinery. The Glashütte watchmaking industry was not in good shape, but they never stopped making watches. In fact, this period of time directly aided Glashütte in getting to where they are today, as the postwar hard times forced watchmakers in Glashütte to figure out how to make everything themselves. They no longer could rely on outside suppliers for springs, jewels, or even machinery. Today we use the term in-house to describe a watchmaking brand that makes all of their parts themselves; for the Glashütte industry it wasn't just a marketing point, but rather, a necessity for survival.

Jewel production in Glashütte.

GUB-era jewel sorting and supply machine.

The GDR government soon decided to combine all of the existing watchmaking companies in Glashütte into one state-owned enterprise, VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB). Today, the legal successor to GUB is Glashütte Original.

Watch produced by VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB).

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Manufacture

During the GUB era, a large manufacturing building was constructed, in which all watchmaking activity was centralized. Today, after a major renovation, that building houses Glashütte Original. The first floor is dedicated to making tools and parts, which actually makes a lot of sense. The large mills, lathes, and wire erosion machines are heavy pieces of industrial equipment and would be very difficult to place on upper floors.

A large lathe seen at the Glashütte Original manufacture.

Sub-assembly is located on the second floor. Here, technicians work on tasks such as riveting, truing wheels, and poising balances. The watchmaking department is on the second floor as well. The third floor is dedicated to the finishing department.

Truing wheels.

Finished full-plate bridge.

Finished rotors, with weights attached.

Working on an engraved balance bridge.

Inside the finishing department.

Dials & Cases

Glashütte Original's dials and cases are made in Germany, but in a different city. Pforzheim has been the traditional home of dial and case work for the German watchmaking industry for some time, and remains an important center for these components today. It's some distance from Glashütte; while Glashütte is just a stone's throw away from the border with the Czech Republic, on the eastern German border, Pforzheim is on the Western border with the Alsace region of France. Though its history is not as well known to watch enthusiasts as that of Glashütte, Pforzheim has, if anything, an even longer and older association with watchmaking, as well as jewelry making; watchmaking was going on in Pforzheim as early as the mid 1700s, and the city was once nicknamed "Goldstadt" (golden city) for the extensiveness of its watch and jewelry trades. It was also very badly damaged during World War II – Allied bombing in 1945 killed a third of the city's population and destroyed around 80 percent of its buildings. Much of the city is, therefore, modern construction, but the traditional watch and jewelry industries are still present.

I visited Pforzheim to see the work being done first-hand.

Inside the dial workshop.

The dial and case manufactory building is a modest two-story structure in the industrial part of town, with little signage. The first floor is dedicated to dials, and the second to cases. It is important to note that the dial manufactory is entirely owned by Glashütte Original, while the case manufactory is not. That being said, the case manufactory produces cases exclusively for Glashütte Original.

I saw all the manufacturing steps that Glashütte Original dials take as they are transformed from metal stock to a finished piece. There are no shortcuts taken in this process; the focus is on quality over quantity. Separate rooms house the various manufacturing steps, including machining, finishing, chemical processes, inspection, and electroplating.

Moon phase discs.

Dials at varying stages of completion.

A vintage dial shows inspiration for the current collection.

The case-making floor was very exciting to see, on account of the massive multi-axis CNC mills that were running. While cases are given their basic shape by these computer-guided milling machines, the finishing operations are all done by hand. Rows upon rows of finishers worked with a variety of tools to add final finishes to the freshly machined cases.

Restoration Workshop

Back at the Museum in Glashütte, Glashütte Original operates a restoration workshop under the careful eye of watchmaker Jurgen Franke. The restoration workshop will work on any watch that meets two simple rules: it must be of Glashütte origin, and it must be made before 1990 (German reunification).

Jurgen Franke at work.

Inside the restoration workshop.

As we were walking out of the restoration workshop, I noticed a watch that he was working on – a late 19th-century pocket watch from A. Lange & Söhne. This speaks volumes about the ethos of watchmaking in Glashütte. The restoration workshop and museum are run by Glashütte Original, they pay the bills. However, their mission goes beyond just business. Glashütte Original, and all of the watchmaking brands in Glashütte, are carrying on the German watchmaking tradition in a way that the entire world can admire.

Glashütte Original boutique in Dresden.

Past & present

GUB pocket watch dial.

Past and present with the Alfred Helwig flying tourbillon model.

Scale model of the GUB Kaliber 67, in the German Watchmaking Museum, Glashütte. Kaliber 67 was made from 1960-67.